McDowell Circuit Race
Report from Rick: Did the McDowell Circuit race today (30 min around a 1.6 mile loop with 2 turns); gorgeous venue, mostly sunny (pic attached). This race had a 60+ group and we started about a minute behind the 50+ group. The race was mundanely civilized; I and an AZ Masters rider (Robert Tomkins) did all the pulling between us and about half way thru we bumped the pace up and dropped half our group. Norm Kibble hung on with us. On the last lap I dropped into 3rd deliberately until the final 300m or so at which point Tomkins commenced his sprint. At 250mKibble started to lose the leader’s wheel so I made a move to the outside, passed Kibble and continued to close on Tomkins, albeit slowly. In the end, he beat me by about a bike length. Nevertheless, I felt like I managed the race pretty well, finished 2nd, and got a bit of cash
Flapjack TT 20K
Good start to the season eating some cakes.
Cat 3
1st – tie Kurt Garbe 0:29:30 25.28 mph
4th Bryan Schlegel 0:30:17 24.62 mph
Cat 5 2nd Scott Douglas 0:32:19 23.07 mph
Merckx 5th Jim Averill 0:32:37 22.86 mh
6th Bryan Schlegel 0:33:03 22.56 mph in round two!! He just change the jersey and machine and off he went again.
60+
6th Richard Ellwanger 0:34:02 21.91 mph
Cat 1/2 honorary mention
3rd and 3rd overall – Victor Riquelme 0:28:05 26.55
El Tour 2009
All washed up
El Tour ended a long season for many of us. Vic, Elliot, Leo, Doogie, Christine and Kurt all raced. Vic has graduated from Aggress, but he is still an honorary member of the team. He finished the tour 27th, Elliot 45th (surviving a ass-ripping crash), Kurt in 64th (broken cleat prior to the 2nd wash losing contact with the front group…), Leo 117th, Doogie 228th and Christine in 2411th. Not too bad a day for Aggress. There is definitely a love – hate relationship with El Tour. You can race with real pros in Tucson’s biggest cycling event, and you can get seriously hurt.
Elijet gives Vic’s new teammates a taste of egg.
2009 Cochise County Classic
157 mile race report:
Jame Carney (former Olympic cyclist and National Collegiate champion), who has won just about everything, shows up unexpectedly….Damn!
Will and Beto’s friend Mark did amazing support! You guys rock! I could never have done it without all of you! Tough day in the saddle.
South Mountain TT
Victor Riquelme and top prospect turned new recruit Jim Averill honed their climbing skills this Saturday at the South Mountain Time Trial in Phoenix.
Jim made his Cat.5 debut, landing on the podium and finishing 2nd/31 finishers with a time of 21:23, +:09 to the leader. Riquelme showed that he is making a strong comeback after being injured in a crash at the State Championship Criterium, finishing 2nd/15 Cat.4’s with a time of 20:22, +:19 to the leader.
Please join us in welcoming Jim to the roster. He is a strong addition to the team and we are all proud to have him on board.
La Vuelta de Bisbee
Brent Barber, Rick Ellwanger, Bryan Schlegel and Kurt Garbe represented the team this year at the Vuelta’s “B” race (Masters 35+).
Mule Pass TT- Aggress had the first 4 starts for this year’s edition. The gusting headwinds during the prologue were certainly a considerable factor in the speed we could maintain. By the time the last of the “B” field was being sent off, the wind was calm.
GC After the Prologue:
Bryan Schlegel – 26th +1:54
Brent Barber – 33rd +1:59
Kurt Garbe – 51st +2:49
Rick Ellwanger – 76th +4:16
Sulphur Springs RR- Stage 1 started in Bisbee with a neutral rollout up Mule Pass (the fastest neutral start you’ve ever seen, by the way!). GST and Bicycle Haus, who are locked in a statewide masters competition, must have brought out their entire teams this weekend. They each clogged up the front on the descent and launched a rider into a two-man breakaway to eat up all the sprint and KOM points on the road. After the KOM there was a split in the peloton, with 20 riders off the front working hard to stay away. Kurt violated the center line rule to get past the GST/BH clog, and helped get things organized on the front. Within 3 minutes the break was back.
Schlegel and Brent both made multiple attempts to escape, but were shut down by the strong Bicycle Haus presence. Schlegel and Kurt had the strongest results, finishing 15th and 17th in the stage.
GC After the RR:
Bryan Schlegel – 23rd +2:09
Brent Barber – 34th +2:26
Kurt Garbe – 53rd +3:24
Rick Ellwanger – 78th +53:33
Warren TT-
This afternoon time trial followed the road race. We had a right hand crosswind on the way out with, no joke, 40mph gusts. In Schlegel’s words – “I got hit so hard by the wind gusts on multiple occasions that I had to quit pedaling. At one point I was moved 6′ to the left over the yellow line into the oncoming lane. I spent the second half on the way out on the bull horns as I couldn’t control the bike from the aero bars.”
Despite this, Bryan was able to pass both his :30 and 1:00 riders before the turn around, and put 1:04 into the guy chasing him. Brent rode the fastest TT, finishing 13th on the stage with Schlegel 2 seconds back in 14th.
GC After the TT:
Bryan Schlegel – 16th +3:03
Brent Barber – 18th +3:18
Kurt Garbe – 39th +4:31
Rick Ellwanger – 77th +59:56
Tombstone RR-
This one started with another neutral climb up Mule Pass (this time, due to numerous complaints, it was truly neutral!). At the top, Bryan attacked and got away solo, but after 14.5 miles alone the Bicycle Haus train on the front of the peloton pulled him back.
Kurt flatted near the feed zone, got a quick wheel change but could not reconnect with the peloton and was forced to ride solo.
Brent and Schlegel were positioned well at the front leading into the decisive climb back up Mule Pass. Four super strong climbers attacked and easily got away early as we chased in the peloton. The attrition didn’t take long to set in and people were being shed left & right as the peloton fragmented. Brent and Bryan found themselves in the peloton #2, chasing peleton #1 and the leaders. Bryan found the highest placing out of the team again, finishing the stage in 23rd. Kurt lost 15 minutes due to his flat.
Final GC Results:
15th – Bryan Schlegel +4:37
24th – Brent Barber +5:58
61st – Kurt Garbe +20:57
73rd – Rick Ellwanger +1:30:00
AZ State Championship Criterium
This years state championship course was quite technical, with a sharp 180 degree (“hot dog”) corner directly following the Start/Finish, eight 90 degree corners in the challenging back section, and a long finishing straight. The location was rather entertaining as well, right in the heart of downtown Phoenix. Most certainly an interesting and difficult course.
Rick Ellwanger raced in the 65+’s, and handled the course well. He brought home a silver medal, finishing 2nd right behind Southwest Hand’s Ralph Duckett.
Victor Riquelme and Kurt Garbe came out with high hopes for the day after recent high placings for our Cat.4 team. Kurt worked to control the pace on the front while Riquelme sat in the draft. Late in the race Vic crashed when his rear tire exploded inside of turn 7. He ran his bike back to the Start/Finish, got a new wheel, and was given a free lap and allowed back into the race. Unfortunately, he sustained multiple injuries in the wreck, was dropped by the peloton, and finished almost a lap back. Kurt was forced to change strategies and try to win for himself. He finished with the peloton.
Riquelme will spend some time on the disabled list, rehabilitating a wrist injury.
Colossal Cave Stage Race
Team Aggress co-sponsored this weekends events here in Tucson with Presteza and Summit Velo. Even with a large chunk of the team comitted to staffing the event, Aggress had a strong presence in the competition.
Mary-Ann Cleveland TT
There is no better way to start off a weekend of racing than heading downhill with a tailwind. And that is exactly what everyone got on Saturday morning, this was a very fast TT.
Fast Bryan lining up for his TT
Bryan Schlegel, Mike Puchowicz, Kurt Garbe, Elliot Anderson, and Rick Ellwanger were the Aggressors in the action this weekend. Stage 1 was highlighted with Kurt coming in 1 second out of 1st place for Cat.4, a very strong performance indeed.
Musselman Honda Criterium
This crit is not for the faint of heart, with 13 corners in 1.264 kilometers it requires some serious bike handling ability.
Mike and Bryan made the split into the lead group, and both fought hard for 6th and 7th place finishes. The last lap was amazingly fast, at 1 minute, 38 seconds. Don’t believe me? Watch for yourself.
Rick E. fought the good fight and finished 2nd in his class in the fast paced 55+/65+ crit. His MTB background seems to have helped him, as he had great confidence in the tight corners, and we can expect an even better result from him in the future.
The Cat. 4’s had an action packed race. Within the first lap the 30+ racers were strung out single file across the track. Kurt got tangled in a crash early on, but fought hard and got himself into the second group on the road. He finished in 12th place.
Kurt in the chase
Elliot hung in with the leaders and had a great shot at the sprint for the line. Everything got a little confusing after a crash in turn 13 took out two of the leaders with two laps to go, but Elliot stuck it out for 6th place.
Colossal Cave Road Race
This great course was home to the third and final stage this weekend. The race featured multiple laps on a 9 mile circuit. A downhill section starts the ride off right after the start/finish, followed by rollers, a few small climbs, then topped off by a sustained climb up Pistol Hill to the start/finish again.
“Feed Zone” on Pistol Hill
Rick missed a major split in the peloton in the 55+/65+ race, and ended up chasing with 6-7 others for the whole race. They were never able to regain the ground that was lost, but Rick finished third in his class all the same.
Elliot and Kurt put in a lot of work to keep the Cat.4 peloton together, and Kurt pulled off a great sprint move up Pistol Hill to take the field for 2nd place (Summit Velo’s Justin Orkney got away in the last few kilometers and took the stage win). Elliot finished with the pack in 11th.
Mike and Bryan missed the split with the lead group in the 3’s race, but Mike bridged solo and Bryan followed a short time later, setting themselves up well being the only team with 2 members represented in the break. The pace was brutally fast, but a Southwest Hand(?) rider managed to squeak off the front and take the victory. Our Cat.3 Aggressors finished 7th and 8th on the stage.
Aggress GC results
Rick Ellwanger – 2nd (65+)
Kurt Garbe – 2nd (Cat.4)
E{gg}lliot Anderson – 12th (Cat.4)
Bryan Schlegel – 7th (Cat.3)
Mike Puchowicz – 8th (Cat.3)
Superior RR
4 Aggressors were present for this Saturday’s Superior Road Race. The course was an out-and-back, with a rather large and steep mountain in the middle and rolling terrain for the rest. THE HILL created an amazingly fast descent on the way out (at speeds close to 60 mph) and an amazingly backbreaking climb on the way back.
Start/Finish locations are approximate.
Rick
Rick Ellwanger flew the flag, riding in the combined masters 50+/60+ field. An elite break containing Franz Hammer escaped on the east side of THE HILL on the way out, and the rest of the field could not react. The break was still out in front when the peloton returned to the western ascent of THE HILL. Rick got away with a Southwest Hand rider on the climb, but was reeled back in on the descent. He survived the dicey downtown sprint (the promoters needed to take more steps to ensure the safety of the finish) and was first across the line out of the peloton, finishing in 5th place.
The Cat.4’s had a strong team present, with Elliot Anderson, Victor Riquelme, Kurt Garbe, and the pledged support of Summit Velo’s Justin Orkney. The field was of good size, with over 35 racers at the start. Kurt was designated the leader for the day, and Vic and Justin were charged with protecting his interests. A 3 man break got away after the eastern descent of THE HILL. Riquelme and Orkney worked very hard at the front on the way back, and the break was within sight upon reaching the base of THE HILL. The main field was shattered by the climb. Kurt came in with a small group in 8th place, Elliot in the next group on the road finishing 12th, and Riquelme rolled in solo in 17th.
Vulture Mine TT
Rugged, hilly terrain and mellow 70 degree temperatures set the stage for Elliot Anderson’s 40k TT this morning. The out and back course had a total of 1150 feet of elevation gain, and began with a 3 mile climb, then a 9 mile downhill, followed by the turnaround back to the finish.
Elliot passed the elder Cat.4 rider who started one minute before him on the first climb, but was overtaken by him on the downhill. He passed him again within the first mile after the turnaround, and held him off to the finish. Elliot clocked a solid time of 1:07:20, good for 2nd place out of 4 in his category, beating the 3rd place rider by 27 seconds, and 38 seconds from 1st.
Notably, his time was the 7th fastest out of all 17 men in all categories that competed in the 40k today.
Both of us stayed up till 2am the night before, and woke up at 5am to make the 3.5 hour trek from Tucson to Wickenburg, AZ.
Elliot getting warm in the shade of the Aggress tent
Vic pulled off an impressive 1st place finish in the sneaker and jean open category
